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Seamaster 2254.50 loosing my patience.....

B
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Hi,
New on here and looking for some advice. I unfortunately lost my Seamaster a couple of years ago. The strap pin broke whilst cycling to work. Gutted, and it wasn't insured. I replaced it with a good, certificated used model from eBay that I had fully serviced with new bezel, crown and glass from a UK service agent. In July last year on a trip abroad it suddenly started gaining an hour a day. As it was within warranty, it was fixed 'hairspring caught'. In January this year it started loosing time and running out of wind. The mainspring was replaced and the watch 'regulated'. Now, its suddenly started gaining an hour a day again...... so its gone back for a third time. Every time its gone for 6 weeks and I'm no longer trusting it.

I never had a seconds trouble with the one I had from new, and yes I know now I should have changed the strap pins and had it serviced over the 14 years I had it.... hindsight 🙁

What could be the problem with my watch? How can I get it working for more than 6 months? Should I just sell it when it comes back? I really like the 2254.50. Its simple black face, solid hands and slim design suit me perfectly.
Edited:
 
alam
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B BrendanD
...New on here and looking for some advice.

what's the question? the title of the thread confuses me.. 😕

B BrendanD
..What could be the problem with my watch? How can I get it working for more than 6 months? Should I just sell it when it comes back?

what's the watch model in question? who is doing the repairs? perhaps is not the watch and the problem is the watchmaker? 😒

B BrendanD
...I really like the 2254.50. Its simple black face, solid hands and slim design suit me perfectly.

are you saying you want to replace your current watch with a 2254.50? Here's a review of the SMP 2254.50 which helped me in deciding to get one...
 
B
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alam alam
what's the question? the title of the thread confuses me.. 😕



what's the watch model in question? who is doing the repairs? perhaps is not the watch and the problem is the watchmaker? 😒



are you saying you want to replace your current watch with a 2254.50? Here's a review of the SMP 2254.50 which helped me in deciding to get one...

My watch IS a 2254.50. My problem is the Omega Service agent's inability to get it running properly for more than 6 months. I don't want to slag them off on a public forum. I'm just looking for advice really. Is there something that can go wrong with these that means it keeps getting a messed-up ('caught') hair spring? I was thinking of selling it on and replacing it with another one that might be more reliable (though I accept I will take a big hit £ as I would have to declare the history).
 
alam
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B BrendanD
My watch IS a 2254.50. My problem is the Omega Service agent's inability to get it running properly for more than 6 months. I don't want to slag them off on a public forum. I'm just looking for advice really. Is there something that can go wrong with these that means it keeps getting a messed-up ('caught') hair spring? I was thinking of selling it on and replacing it with another one that might be more reliable (though I accept I will take a big hit £ as I would have to declare the history).

The 2254.50 has a solid reputation regarding its movement reliability - mine has ran for more than six years w/o any issues. Again, perhaps you need to find a different watchmaker/service center. @Archer might chime in and give his expert watchmaker opinion...
 
Canuck
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Try another watchmaker. If the hairspring is indeed causing the symptoms you describe, perhaps you should consider changing how you wear it. I know, I know! You are likely to come back and tell us that you wore the one you lost the same way as you wear the replacement, and the one you lost never caused you this kind of problem. You might be part of the problem, as well as part of the solution.
 
Donn Chambers
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+1 on finding another watchmaker. Having something “caught” in the mainspring once might be a watch problem, but twice suggests a watchmaker problem. Is he replacing the mainspring each time? What are the quality of the parts? How clean is his workspace? Did he completely disassemble, clean, and reassemble the movement, or just futz around with the mainspring and adjust the timing?

It could be a bad watch, but I suggest taking that watchmaker out of the equation and try one more time. But that’s me. Or you could just look for another example and start over.
 
Archer
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B BrendanD
Is there something that can go wrong with these that means it keeps getting a messed-up ('caught') hair spring?

No - not any more than any other watch. If the balance spring is getting hung up, the only way this happens is due to a shock to the watch. Here is an example of another Omega with the same issue - ETA 7750 based watch. You can see that the coil of the spring has caught on the stud:



Seen from above:



After I untangled it, you can see that the spring was deformed as the coils are not evenly spaced, so I had to do some tweaking to get it back to the correct form:



And just to show it's not an Omega specific issue, here's a Rolex with a snagged balance spring:



What it should look like:



In both these cases I had serviced the watch, and in both cases the owners didn't recall any sharp impacts, but clearly that is what causes this. If the impact happens at just the right time (when the spring is expanded at it's largest state) and the impact is just in the right direction, it can cause the coil to get hung up.

This is not a watchmaker problem as some suggest - it's just the nature of the beast. Mechanical watches don't always take shocks well, and sometimes you just get unlucky. The good thing is it's usually a quick fix - for example on the Rolex due to the specific geometry above, there wasn't much distortion of the spring, so that one took all of 5 minutes to correct, where the Omega took longer since it was more distorted.

Cheers, Al
 
Archer
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Donn Chambers Donn Chambers
+1 on finding another watchmaker. Having something “caught” in the mainspring once might be a watch problem, but twice suggests a watchmaker problem. Is he replacing the mainspring each time? What are the quality of the parts? How clean is his workspace? Did he completely disassemble, clean, and reassemble the movement, or just futz around with the mainspring and adjust the timing?

It could be a bad watch, but I suggest taking that watchmaker out of the equation and try one more time. But that’s me. Or you could just look for another example and start over.

Balance spring - not mainspring. Completely different thing mate.

Go onto some Seiko forums and have a look for this issue - if it's the watchmaker there must be a ton of bad watchmakers working on Seiko's because they are notorious for this problem. The solution most often given for those is usually to smack the watch down into your palm...
 
B
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Interesting. trying to think if their is any constant pattern to what I'm doing with the watch...
First episode of running fast was immediately after a flight to China. The watch had been taken off and put in a pocket in a backpack with my keys, reading glasses and iPhone. Hair/balance spring was 'caught' as described.
Second one was a bit different, it was running slow rather than fast and only holding 3-4 hrs of movement when fully wound - mainspring was changed.
This time, since its hot, I felt my watch was a bit exposed cycling, so I slipped it into a pocket on the top part of my cycling back pack. Along with it were my keys, my iPhone and my reading glasses.
There are many times when I do this, travelling/flying, at the gym etc, without any problem, and I certainly haven't dropped it. I'm pretty careful with things. Also it never happened in 14 years of my previous Seamaster 2254.50..... So pretty flummoxed.
 
sxl2004
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Sounds like you are risking magnetizing your watch/ mainspring by putting it close to an iPhone. Would result in the fast running of the watch too.
 
slickvolt
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alam alam
what's the question? the title of the thread confuses me.. 😕



what's the watch model in question? who is doing the repairs? perhaps is not the watch and the problem is the watchmaker? 😒



are you saying you want to replace your current watch with a 2254.50? Here's a review of the SMP 2254.50 which helped me in deciding to get one...
I read the OPs post and am not confused...he, after an unhappy loss of a watch , replaced it with the "money pit" of all Seamaster 2254.50 watches, a replacement watch that doesnt keep time reliably and is constantly in the shop ...not confusing at all...I would be frustrated too.
 
B
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sxl2004 sxl2004
Sounds like you are risking magnetizing your watch/ mainspring by putting it close to an iPhone. Would result in the fast running of the watch too.
Would that do it? Just an iPhone? I've had an iPhone since they came out and I've only had a problem with this particular Seamaster... Perhaps I'm a bit more careful since I lost one..... Perhaps I've changed where I put it (e.g. taking it off when cycling to work)... interesting thought.
 
slickvolt
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sxl2004 sxl2004
Sounds like you are risking magnetizing your watch/ mainspring by putting it close to an iPhone. Would result in the fast running of the watch too.
If thats the case then the repairs are unjust and unprofessional....either way...NOT GOOD
 
B
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slickvolt slickvolt
If thats the case then the repairs are unjust and unprofessional....either way...NOT GOOD
Never said they have charged me for the visits back to the shop... its been under warranty of the original full service. They've been very helpful, and I have no criticism whatsoever. Its just frustrating being stuck without a watch for 4-6 weeks, posting it off etc.... SURELY they would check for magnetism as a routine????
 
slickvolt
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Archer Archer
No - not any more than any other watch. If the balance spring is getting hung up, the only way this happens is due to a shock to the watch. Here is an example of another Omega with the same issue - ETA 7750 based watch. You can see that the coil of the spring has caught on the stud:



Seen from above:



After I untangled it, you can see that the spring was deformed as the coils are not evenly spaced, so I had to do some tweaking to get it back to the correct form:



And just to show it's not an Omega specific issue, here's a Rolex with a snagged balance spring:



What it should look like:



In both these cases I had serviced the watch, and in both cases the owners didn't recall any sharp impacts, but clearly that is what causes this. If the impact happens at just the right time (when the spring is expanded at it's largest state) and the impact is just in the right direction, it can cause the coil to get hung up.

This is not a watchmaker problem as some suggest - it's just the nature of the beast. Mechanical watches don't always take shocks well, and sometimes you just get unlucky. The good thing is it's usually a quick fix - for example on the Rolex due to the specific geometry above, there wasn't much distortion of the spring, so that one took all of 5 minutes to correct, where the Omega took longer since it was more distorted.

Cheers, Al
...
Interesting...because I would have thought thats what the incabloc system above was designed to protect against...I would think only the mother of all shocks could do that...I must have had a false impression.
 
sxl2004
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B BrendanD
Would that do it? Just an iPhone? I've had an iPhone since they came out and I've only had a problem with this particular Seamaster... Perhaps I'm a bit more careful since I lost one..... Perhaps I've changed where I put it (e.g. taking it off when cycling to work)... interesting thought.

The iPhone battery can induce a electromagnetic charging on ferrous metals (not very scientific. Please excuse me it is Saturday after all).
 
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